Cybersecurity for law firms

Cybersecurity is a critical issue for businesses including law firms. In the latest LexisNexis report, Is your Tech Smart?, mid-level law firms identified that cybersecurity was the third most urgent challenge they are facing.

Those who hold business sensitive data should take their cybersecurity seriously. New data protection requirements from 25 May 2018 when GDPR comes into force will compel an increased compliance; as all law firms hold significant amounts of personal data, robust plans to protect client data and by extension the firm’s reputation, should be in place, no matter the size of the firm.

Cybersecurity is an issue which is not going away. In 2015, 62 per cent of law firms reported a cyber-attack in 2015. By 2017, the figure had increased to the majority of law firms having reported suffering a security incident in the past 12 months, with the report going on to note that 12% of firms claim to be recipients of such attacks on a daily basis with a further 30% identifying attacks on either a weekly or monthly basis.

But how can smaller and mid-size firms keep up and keep client and firm data secure?

In an ideal world, all law firms need some form of internal technology expertise, “to plan, guide, structure and deploy the relevant technology in a proactive, rather than reactive way” says Neil Prevett, Technology Director at regional mid-size firm Gardner Leader. Neil joined in 2010 as IT Director, the sole internal IT resource, and has now built out internal expertise to a team of four.

Why is cybersecurity so important and why should firms be concerned?

“The need to focus on Cybersecurity is as important as the need to focus on their accounts system. It forms part of the big picture when it comes to providing excellent service and peace of mind to our clients. The risk of cybersecurity cannot be ignored and will not go away, so law firms need to take action to ensure they protect themselves and their clients as much as possible”, Neil told us.

“Criminals & fraudsters’ methods are getting more sophisticated and complex and so are the solutions to combat them. It is critical that we try to stay a number of steps ahead – not only to protect u